Today, Trish from Jewels by Trish is here to talk about her planner story and how she found planner peace. Hopefully, her story will help you find your perfect system.
I’m not a professional planner; in fact, planning effectively is something I’ve struggled with before…
Does this sound all too familiar?
It’s been one of those wretched days in which you are surprised that the sky hasn’t fallen yet. You pick the kids up from school, and apparently, their day has been…hmmm…overwhelming too. Everyone needs ice cream! You are in line at Dairy Queen when your cell phone rings. You mindlessly answer it, thinking you wish you could chunk it out the window instead, and it’s the dentist office. “Mrs. Robinson, this is Amy at Dr. Ortho’s office calling to reschedule Timmy’s appointment you missed this afternoon.”
Palm splat! It took forever to get in to see Dr. Ortho and now, because of the serious slacking in your planning (or memory) skills, it will take another forever to reschedule.
How on earth did June Cleaver make this look so easy?
You’ve tried writing everything down on the calendar in the kitchen. But you often forget to write things on it. And you have a gazillion to-do lists on sticky notes with uncompleted tasks lying all around the house. Not to mention, you are constantly shifting appointments because you can’t ever remember what’s on the home calendar-when you do remember to use it- and frequently double-book things.
So you started using the calendar on your phone. That worked great for appointments and important events, but you still had those pesky uncompleted to-do lists everywhere. Besides, it was just too hard to type everything on that little phone keyboard.
Then you got smart and bought a day planner. One of the big ones: with lots of space to write EVERYTHING down. Yay! But…that didn’t work either. You ended up over extended; still forgetting things, because honestly, you weren’t hauling that thing in the car! It’s enormous!
Don’t panic; it’s going to be okay. Take deep breathes, sweets. Here is what I did…
I bought a small Color Crush planner from webster’s pages. Initially, I wanted to doodle on it and put cutsie stickers on each page, but honestly, I don’t have time for that. So I use colorful pens instead. I just love me a colorful pen!
I use an Excel spreadsheet to contain the big picture. Inside the spreadsheet, I have listed every thing I want to accomplish. I have listed business goals, online courses I am taking, and every day things such as re-painting the front door, for example. If the task is huge, like cleaning out the master bedroom closet, then I have the task broken down into baby steps.
I use Goggle calendar online in tandem with this spreadsheet. I use the online calendar to insert all appointments or time sensitive events. The online calendar syncs automatically to your cell phone app, so you can consult it anytime. Anywhere.
And here’s how I put them both together.
I sit down every Sunday evening and plan my week. The first thing I do is write down all time-sensitive appointments/events for the week in one color of ink. Next, I consult my spreadsheet to see what additional tasks I’d like, or need, to complete for the week. I write these down in a DIFFERENT color of ink.
You can see, in the picture above, purple and orange tasks written for each day. The “purple” tasks are all the non-flexible appointments or events I have for the day, and the “orange” tasks are the flexible tasks for each day. So for this particular week, my son had a football camp every day, and I had various things I was working on. The non-flexible/purple tasks are listed first, then, since I still had remaining space in the little square, I saw that I could schedule something else.
The space in my square is uber important!
If I can’t fit anything else inside the square, then that day is full. Done. Over. Nothing else can be scheduled. Nothing. Because I have found that in the past, I over extended myself, and always felt frustrated; nothing was getting done. We have to live in the real world, and the reality for me is that little square of time. If I write down too much, then I will not be able to complete all the tasks.
Once I have planned my week, I put it away. I don’t pull it out again until Monday morning. Every Monday morning I sit down with my planner, pull up my Internet browser, and search for inspirational quotes. I take about five minutes to read through them and pick one that resonates with me. I write down that quote in a third, and different, color of ink at the top of my planner.
And I’m ready to roll!
I dive into each day’s list after reading my motivational message; starting your day with positive thoughts will have a profound effect on your productivity.
Now you’re ready to roll and find something that works for you. There is a sure-fire system out there for you. Try mine. If it doesn’t work, then don’t be afraid to throw away that idea and start again. The key is to find a system that fits your personal style.
Put any questions you have in the comments below, and I’ll do my best to help you out. Also, my friend Cara here has a great course on finding your perfect planner, so you may be inclined to check that out.
It’s been fun hanging out on Cara’s blog today! Don’t forget to leave questions, thoughts, or tips in the comments section below. I hope to connect with you soon.
XO,
Trish
More about Trish
Hi, I’m Trish! I love making unique jewels crafted by hand, my hands, in my home studio. My other passions are reading a good book {for hours}, playing tennis, making puzzles, baking, and hanging out with my family. I also love my dogs {I have 2 rescues} and my green cheek conure.
My company was built on the philosophy that…”A girl should be two things…Classy & Fabulous!” ~Coco Chanel
I specialize in Handcrafted Jewelry using gemstones, fleur de lis components, crystals, and pearls. I have a love for silver and anything shiny. You can also find yoga/spiritual jewelry and children’s jewelry in my boutique. I believe in creating quality jewelry that can last a lifetime without the heavy price tag. Indulging in beautiful things should not cause guilt. YOU are worthy of feeling special and beautiful and my endeavor is to help you do just that.
Find Trish at JewelsbyTrish.com and as @jewelsbytrish on Periscope, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter.
